Korban Pesach - Perek 1

In the name of the Lord, the God of the world.
May my prayer be established as incense before You; the raising of my hands as a meal-offering brought in the afternoon.

The ninth book which is The Book of Sacrifices

It includes six sets of Halachot and this is their order:

The Laws of the Paschal Sacrifice
The Laws of Festive Sacrifices
The Laws of the Firstborn Offering
The Laws [of the Sacrifices Offered to Atone for] Inadvertent Transgressions
The Laws of [the Sacrifices Brought by] those Requiring Atonement
The Laws of the Transfer of Holiness

Introduction to Hilchot Korban Pesach

Included in this text are sixteen mitzvot: 4 positive commandments and 12 negative commandments. They include the following:

1) To slaughter the Pesach sacrifice at the appropriate time;
2) Not to slaughter it while in possession of chametz;
3) Not to leave the fats and organs to be offered on the altar overnight;
4) To slaughter a second Paschal sacrifice;
5) To partake of the meat of the Paschal sacrifice together with matzah and bitter herbs on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan;
6) To partake of the meat of the second Paschal sacrifice together with matzah and bitter herbs on the night of the fifteenth of the second month;
7) Not to partake of the [Paschal sacrifice] lightly roasted or cooked in water;
8) Not to take the meat of the Paschal offering outside of the group [designated to partake of it];
9) That an apostate should not partake of [the Paschal sacrifice];
10) That a gentile resident or hired worker should not be enabled to partake of [the Paschal sacrifice];
11) That an uncircumcised person should not partake of [the Paschal sacrifice];
12) That a bone should not be broken in [the Paschal sacrifice];
13) That a bone should not be broken in the second [Paschal sacrifice];
14) That none [of the meat of the Paschal sacrifice] be left over until the following morning;
15) That none [of the meat of] the second [Paschal sacrifice] be left over until the following morning;
16) That none of the meat of the festive offering brought on the fourteenth [of Nisan] be left over until the morning of the third day;

It is a positive commandment to offer the Paschal sacrifice on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan after midday. This offering is brought only from lambs or goats, a male in its first year. Both men and women are obligated in this mitzvah.

One who willfully nullifies this mitzvah and allows the fourteenth of Nisan to pass without him offering the Paschal sacrifice despite the fact that he is not impure or not on a distant journey, he is liable for karet. If he neglected the offering of this sacrifice inadvertently, he is exempt.

The Paschal sacrifice may be slaughtered only in the Temple Courtyard like other sacrifices. Even when sacrificing in high places was permitted, the Paschal sacrifice would not be offered on an individual alter. Anyone who offers the Paschal sacrifice on an individual altar is liable for lashes as if he offered it in the market place, as Deuteronomy 16:5 states" "You may not sacrifice the Paschal sacrifice in one of your gates." According to the Oral Tradition, it was taught that this is warning not to slaughter a Paschal sacrifice on an individual altar even during the time when sacrificing on the high places was permitted.

The slaughter of the Paschal sacrifice takes place after midday. It should not be slaughtered until the afternoon daily offering is slaughtered. After the afternoon incense offering is brought and the lamps of the Menorah are kindled, they begin slaughtering the Paschal sacrifices and continue until the end of the day.

If one slaughtered the Paschal sacrifice after midday, but before the afternoon daily sacrifice was offered, it is acceptable, but one should stir the blood of the Paschal sacrifice until the blood of the daily offering is cast on the altar. Afterwards, the blood of the Paschal sacrifice should be cast after it. If, however, the blood of the Paschal sacrifice is cast before the blood of the daily offering, it is acceptable.

A person who slaughters the Paschal sacrifice at the appropriate time while possessing an olive-sized portion of chametz is liable for lashes, as Exodus 23:18 states: "Do not slaughter sacrificial blood over chametz, i.e., that one should not offer the Paschal sacrifice while chametz continues to exist in his possession.

Whether one slaughters, casts the blood on the altar, or offers the organs and fats, if one of these individuals or one of the members of the company partaking of this Paschal sacrifice possessed chametz in his domain at the time it is offered, he is liable for lashes. The sacrifice is, however, acceptable.

The blood of the Paschal sacrifice should be poured out on the base of the altar. After the blood was poured, its belly should be opened up, the fats and organs to be offered on the altar removed. The fats of each Paschal sacrifice should be offered on the pyre individually. The owner of the sacrifice should take his Paschal sacrifice with its hide to his home in Jerusalem.There he roasts it and eats it in the evening.

When one leaves these fats and organs and does not offer them until they remain overnight and thus become disqualified because they remained overnight, he violates a negative commandment, as Exodus 23:18 states: "Do not leave over the festive fats until the morning." Even though he transgresses, he is not liable for lashes, for the prohibition does not involve a deed.

The fats of the Paschal sacrifice may be offered on the altar's pyre until dawn.

When does the above apply? When the fourteenth of Nisan falls on the Sabbath, for fats of sacrifices offered on the Sabbath may be offered on a festival. If, however, the fourteenth fell on a weekday, this leniency is not taken, because we do not offer the fats of sacrifices offered on a weekday on a festival.

The Paschal sacrifice should be offered in three groups, as implied by Exodus 13:6 "And all of the congregation of the community of Israel shall slaughter it." Three collective terms are used "congregation," community," and "Israel." There should be no less than 30 people in each group.

If there were only 50 people who came to slaughter the Paschal sacrifice, thirty enter the Temple Courtyard and slaughter their sacrificial animals. Ten depart and another ten enter. Then ten more depart and another ten enter.

If there are less than 50 people who seek to offer Paschal sacrifices, the initial preference is not to offer that sacrifice. If, however, it was offered, it is acceptable. If all the Jewish people slaughtered their Paschal sacrifices at one time, it is acceptable.

How is the Paschal sacrifice slaughtered? The first group enters the Temple Courtyard until it is full. Its gates are locked and they begin slaughtering their Paschal sacrifices. As long as they are slaughtering and offering the blood, the Levites recite the Hallel. If they completed its recitation before the group completed its sacrifice, the Hallel is repeated. If they completed its repetition before the group completed its sacrifice, the Hallel is recited a third time. There was never a situation where the Hallel was completed a third time.

For every time the Hallel is read, three blasts are sounded with the trumpets, a tekiah, teruah, and tekiah. Since these sacrifices are not accompanied by libations for the trumpets to be sounded when they are offered, they are sounded when the sacrifices are slaughtered.

A slaughterer slaughters the sacrificial animal and a priest receives its blood, gives to his colleague, who gives it to his colleague - so that many will be involved in the mitzvah - until the blood reaches the priest near the altar. He should pour it in a single action towards the altar's base. He receives a full vessel and returns the empty one.

Afterwards, the sacrificial animal is hung and skinned entirely. Its belly is ripped open and its innards are pressed until the filth and waste are removed from them. The organs and fats to be offered are removed, placed in a vessel, salted, and offered by a priest on the altar.

How is the sacrificial animal hung and skinned? There were iron pegs affixed in the walls and the pillars of the Temple Courtyard. The sacrificial animals were hung and skinned on them. For those who did not find a place to hang his animal, there were thin, smooth rods. One would place the rod on his shoulder and on his friend's shoulder and hang the sacrificial animal on it and skin it.

After the sacrifice was completed, the gates of the Temple Courtyard are opened. The first group departs and the second group enters. Then the second group departs and the third group enters. The manner in which it was offered the first time was repeated the second time and the third time. When the third group completed its sacrificial service and departed, the Temple Courtyard is washed.

If the fourteenth of Nisan fell on the Sabbath, it was offered on the Sabbath in the same way as it was offered during the week. The floor of the Temple Courtyard would be washed, for prohibitions of the category of shvut are not observed in the Temple, even when the matter is not necessary for the Temple service. For the prohibitions of shvut are released entirely in the Temple.

No one would bring their Paschal sacrifices to their homes on the Sabbath. Instead, the first group would depart with their Paschal sacrifices and sit on the Temple Mount. The second group would depart with their Paschal sacrifices and sit on the surrounding rampart. And the third group would stand in their place in the Temple Courtyard. They would all wait until the conclusion of the Sabbath and then everyone would bring their Paschal sacrifice to his home.

The slaughter of the Paschal sacrifice, pouring its blood on the altar, pressing out its innards, and offering its fats supersede the Sabbath prohibitions. For it is impossible to perform these before the Sabbath, because the sacrifice has a fixed time, as implied by Numbers 9:2 which states that the sacrifice must be brought "at its appointed time." Nevertheless, carrying it through the city, bringing it from outside the Sabbath limits, cutting off its wart with a utensil do not supersede the Sabbath prohibitions, because these activities could be performed before the Sabbath. If, however, he could cut it off by hand on the Sabbath, he may. If it was dried up, he may cut it off, even with a utensil, for the prohibitions defined as shvut do not apply in the Temple at all.

Similarly, roasting it and washing out its innards do not supersede the Sabbath prohibitions, because these activities can be performed after the Sabbath.

If one forgot and did not bring a knife, he should not bring it on the Sabbath. Instead, he should place it between the horns of the lamb or in its wool and spur it on until it brings it to the Temple. There he should consecrate it. Although he is having an animal carry a burden for him on the Sabbath, since he is doing this in an abnormal manner and because of the mitzvah, it was permitted.

When does this apply? When he has not consecrated his Paschal sacrifice as of yet or said: "This is a Paschal sacrifice." If, however, he consecrated it, he should not have a knife carried upon it, because he is having work performed by a consecrated animal.

Why was a person permitted to consecrate his Paschal sacrifice on the Sabbath? Since the sacrifice has a fixed time, it is permitted to consecrate it on the Sabbath. Similarly, a person may consecrate his festive offering on a festival without any concern.

When a person slaughters his Paschal sacrifice and it is discovered to have a disqualifying physical blemish or it is treifah. he may slaughter another one whether on the weekday or on the Sabbath. He may proceed and slaughter one hundred one after the other until one is acceptable or until night falls and his offering of the sacrifice is postponed until the Second Pesach, because he was prevented by forces beyond his control.

The Mishneh Torah was the Rambam's (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon) magnum opus, a work spanning hundreds of chapters and describing all of the laws mentioned in the Torah. To this day it is the only work that details all of Jewish observance, including those laws which are only applicable when the Holy Temple is in place. Participating in the one of the annual study cycles of these laws (3 chapters/day, 1 chapter/day, or Sefer Hamitzvot) is a way we can play a small but essential part in rebuilding the final Temple.

Featuring a modern English translation and a commentary that presents a digest of the centuries of Torah scholarship which have been devoted to the study of the Mishneh Torah by Maimonides.

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